Kids get into community service at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor

Posted on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 : 11 a.m.

Kids get into community service at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor

By Letters to the Editor

Thank you for your recent article by Jen Eyer, detailing her experiences with her daughter, Belle at Food Gatherers. It completely resonated with me and made me want to share my experiences.

A few years ago, with a three year old and six year old at home, I had a series of "lumpy macaroni and cheese" experiences and felt compelled to find ways to serve with my kids but had no idea where to begin. Lots of ideas didn't seem possible or didn't work out. I wrote an e-mail to my church's outreach committee detailing my concerns about the lack of volunteer programming for families with younger kids.

It seemed several people were thinking similarly, and we began (as volunteers) a program called "Families in Service — Here" or FiSH for short. The mission is to seek out opportunities for young families to serve with their kids, either through existing programs or through the creation of programs to fill whatever needs we uncover.

Here are some examples of things we've done that kids really "get":

Hands-on volunteering with the LOVE Thy Neighbor Lunch Program. Every Friday night (at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor), kids and their families are invited to help make PB&J sandwiches and help pack lunches that are distributed to our hungry and homeless neighbors through the St. Andrew's Breakfast Program the next day.

Cereal drive. When we found out (via the Community Action Network) that summer is a rough time for low-income families because the kids are not at school to have free lunches (but no additional aid is given), we started a cereal drive. The past two summers we collected and delivered 2,000 boxes of cereal, and last summer added hundreds of gallons of milk. The mini-van was smelling very "dairy."

Valentines drive. When we explain that families that can't afford to put food on the table or keep the lights on don't have any extra for things like valentines or cupcakes on birthdays, the kids really understand how painful this would be to be left out of these fun classroom traditions.

Birthday program. What no birthday presents? We've coordinated with the Bryant Community Center to provide birthday gifts, favorite cake mixes and frosting to the kids in their after-school program. Parents often coordinate a Bryant birthday with their own child's celebration. They go out and shop together or have party participants bring something that can be given.

And lots of other little things along the way...

In the few years I've worked on this, there have been happy surprises. One of the coolest is the ripple effect of service. People who participate get excited, get other people involved, get great ideas that they run with — it is amazing, and as the families get more involved the impact on the kids is wonderful. I have so many great examples of this. Without really noticing, you end up talking more about what needs there are in the world and how they might be filled, and the kids become empowered.

I often swear my own kids are not paying attention at all, but then they will surprise me spontaneous generosity and kindness. One time my oldest daughter Annie rolled down the window to give a parking attendant a Snickers from her goodie bag (we were coming from a birthday party) because he looked cold and hungry.

I really wanted to share my experience because this programming could be replicated anywhere: churches, civic or service organizations, neighborhoods, or any group of parents who want to instill values of gratitude, generosity, compassion, and kindness. Once you start looking, and have a focus on this, the opportunities pop up everywhere.

I hope this is useful. Thanks, Jen, for your work.

Chris Nelson
Ann Arbor

Comments

Pam Stout

Mon, Mar 15, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.

Thanks so much for sharing this, Chris! You've made a huge difference in the lives of families at First UMC and your neighborhood. You make it so easy to plug in and get involved in helping others.